Red zone numbers ugly

I didn’t need to look up the numbers to know how badly the Lions offense has struggled in the red zone, but I was curious.

It’s as bad as it seems.

They rank next to last in the NFL. Only Arizona is worse. They’ve had 24 chances and scored 17 times. They have five rushing touchdowns, six passing touchdowns and six field goals.

For some perspective on how bad that is, New Orleans ranks No. 1 in red zone offense. They have scored on 22 of 23 drives with 17 touchdowns.

Those numbers right there tell the story of the Lions’ offensive struggles. And when you think of all the different ways they can create mismatches — with Brandon Pettigrew or Tony Scheffler, with Calvin Johnson, with Mikel Leshoure or Joique Bell — it’s mystifying.

But then again, I think back to the two passes Pettigrew dropped in the end zone, one that was knocked out of Johnson’s hands, the offensive pass interference that took a touchdown away from Johnson, the two fumbles last week — it becomes less mystifying.